Source: www.mercurynews.com
LIVERMORE, CA, USA, May 11, 2010: Following a turbulent public hearing that raised questions about whether certain types of land use restrictions impede religious practices, the Livermore City Council voted 4-1 Monday to allow the Shiva-Vishnu Hindu Temple to enlarge its facilities.
The council’s approval of the 31,000-square-foot assembly hall expansion and new multipurpose and administration buildings came with a long list of conditions — including a rule barring the temple from having any amplified music, prayer or other sound outdoors.
The condition was included even after the city attorney warned it may be regarded as a hindrance to religious expression.
“It could potentially (be viewed) as discriminating” against the temple, City Attorney John Pomidor said.
More than 240 people attended the nearly five-hour meeting, forcing city officials to open a second room in the multiservice center next door to the council chamber.
On one side of the issue were neighbors who feared the project would worsen existing traffic, noise, vermin, pollution and other problems they have long claimed stem from the temple. In hundreds of letters to the city, opponents said the 27-year-old Shiva-Vishnu has had a poor track record with neighbors, often failing to respond to their concerns.
The temple, which was incorporated in the early 1980s when there were fewer houses around it, has grown from several hundred devotees to a regional destination. Its largest events can draw up to 10,000, though typically not all at once.
Originally, a 70,000-square-foot expansion was planned, but neighbors’ complaints and economic factors led temple leaders to scale down the project. Shiva-Vishnu officials say more than $1 million has been spent trying to appease the city and neighbors; the temple conducted two traffic studies, agreed to relocate the kitchen, planned curbside improvements and has taken other mitigation measures.